Gadget

Friday, September 18, 2015

Completing
the Z for Zachariahcast is Chris Pine,
who stars as the enigmatic, Caleb. Best known for his portrayal of
James Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the popular Star Trek film
series, Pine has also appeared in a wide variety of comedies and
dramas – Unstoppable (2010), This Means War (2012)
and Into the Woods (2014), to name but a handful – since
landing his first acting role in 2003 on an episode of the popular US
television series, ER.

“I
first came upon this project thanks to my agents,” says Pine, whose
reps sent him details on several notable productions in development
before putting him in touch with director, Craig Zobel. “Craig had
done a small movie called Compliance that I really enjoyed,”
explains Pine. “I don’t know what you would call it – it’s
almost a horror movie, but the psychology behind everything that’s
happening is so complex. I asked him what he was doing next and he
told me that he had this script, ‘But, you know, the part isn’t
all that big and that the film isn’t all that big…’ Of course,
I read it and I loved it. I knew that Chiwetel was going to do the
lead and that to play opposite him would be a lot of fun. And I knew
if there was one guy who could direct this kind of a psychological
drama it was Craig Zobel.”

On
screen, Pine’s character, Caleb, enters the action well into the
story, the point at which Burden and Loomis, while their romantic
future remains uncertain, have begun to settle into a working
routine. Similarly the actor himself joined the cast and crew some
three weeks into the production’s five-week shoot in New Zealand.
“It was weird for me to come into something that late in the
game…. Usually I’m with a film for the duration,” says
Pine, who, in conjunction with Robbie, Ejiofor and Zobel, ultimately
turned the situation to their advantage.

“The
scheduling was designed perfectly in the sense that we all got to
this remote, isolated part of New Zealand where we had no one but
each other - and by ‘we,’ I mean Chiwetel and myself, that was
the entire cast at that point - and then the crew, which was very
small,” explains Robbie. “We’d all hang out with each other
after shooting because there was no one else to see… Suddenly Chris
comes in and it was this new dynamic. It totally changed everything
up, which was so perfect for the shoot, because that’s exactly what
happens in the script.”

“Coming
into that kind of equation is hard though,” says Pine.
“Relationships have been established and on top of that you’re in
the middle of nowhere in New Zealand, so the crew and the cast were
super-tight… Fortunately they made me feel incredibly welcome. I
was able to move into their dynamic pretty easily. The crew was great
and the director was great. The producers were really chill, and
Margot and Chiwetel were so welcoming… I just really lucked out.”